Feds tout Everglades work

bestow $80 million

July 13, 2012|William E. Gibson

Eager to show their commitment to Everglades restoration during this election year, Obama administration officials gathered in Kissimmee on Friday to tout $1.5 billion of federal spending so far on the president's watch and to bestow another $80 million.

They released a report saying that $1.5 billion has been invested in Everglades-related work since Obama came into office in 2009. The $80 million will go to a project designed to conserve wetlands on farm and ranchland north of Lake Okeechobee.

Much of the money will go to farmers and ranchers who take part in a Wetlands Reserve Program designed to restore another 23,000 acres in the northern Everglades watershed.

“President Obama has made restoring the iconic Everglades a national priority,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Related projects already have generated 6,600 jobs in Florida, he said.

Taking part in the announcement were Chairwoman Nancy Sutley of the Council on Environmental Quality; Rachel Jacobson, assistant secretary of the Interior Department; and Jo-Ellen Darcy, who leads the Army Corps of Engineers.